The Night Watch (Live at the Rijksmuseum) Sting

• 1 Message In A Bottle (Live at the Rijksmuseum) 05:07
• 2 The Last Ship (Live at the Rijksmuseum) 03:47
• 3 The Night The Pugilist Learned How To Dance (Live at the Rijksmuseum) 03:08
• 4 Island Of Souls (Live at the Rijksmuseum) 04:10
• 5 All This Time (Live at the Rijksmuseum) 02:27
• 6 What Say You Meg? (Live at the Rijksmuseum) 03:50
• 7 Roxanne (Live at the Rijksmuseum) 02:19
• 8 Shape Of My Heart (Live at the Rijksmuseum) 04:53
• 9 Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (Live at the Rijksmuseum) 03:02
• 10 Fields Of Gold (Live at the Rijksmuseum) 03:31
• 11 Fragile (Live at the Rijksmuseum) 03:50
• 12 Every Breath You Take (Live at the Rijksmuseum) 03:58
• Total Runtime 44:02

Info for The Night Watch (Live at the Rijksmuseum)

Sounds Like Art is an exciting new concert initiative that invites musicians to perform amongst works of art in a European museum of their choice. World-renowned artist Sting performs in the beautiful surroundings of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum amongst paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Judith Leyster, and reflects on the works of the old masters.

The 17-time Grammy Award winning artist performs a unique concert amongst masterpieces in the Gallery of Honour. Playing a rare 17th century guitar, Sting, managed by Martin Kierszenbaum/Cherrytree Music Company, reveals his love for the Old Masters and revels in the power of books and reading, while performing in the museum’s spectacular library.

Coinciding with an international run of Sting’s musical “The Last Ship” in Amsterdam, Paris, Brisbane and New York, this special performance includes selections from his TONY Award nominated musical, a deeply personal tribute to Sting’s native Northeast England and the now-vanished shipbuilding tradition of his hometown, Wallsend. Accompanied by his longtime guitarist Dominic Miller, Sting reflects on the musical’s origins, shares stories from throughout his career, and performs beloved songs spanning his illustrious catalogue, including classics from his celebrated band, The Police.

During his time in Amsterdam, ARTE captured Sting’s breathtaking performance at the Rijksmuseum, creating a stunning live film that will premiere on ARTE’s VOD platform on March 5 before broadcasting across the network in Germany and France on March 27.

While the Rijksmuseum’s crown jewel, Rembrandt’s The Night Watch, undergoes restoration, the museum opens the doors of the painting’s striking glass-fronted gallery for a rare, intimate performance. For the occasion, Sting plays a unique 17th-century guitar - originally crafted for the court of Louis XIV, the Sun King - generously loaned to the museum.

A former teacher with a lifelong devotion to reading and learning, Sting also performs in the Rijksmuseum’s spectacular library, celebrating the enduring power of books and curiosity. His openness, intellect, and willingness to keep challenging himself shine throughout this episode - an unforgettable encounter where timeless art meets timeless music, and where history, storytelling, and song come vividly alive.

Sting

Sting
Born 2 October 1951, in Wallsend, north-east England, Gordon Sumner's life started to change the evening a fellow musician in the Phoenix Jazzmen caught sight of his black and yellow striped sweater and decided to re-christen him Sting. Sting paid his early dues playing bass with local outfits The Newcastle Big Band, The Phoenix Jazzmen, Earthrise and Last Exit, the latter of which featured his first efforts at song writing. Last Exit were big in the North East, but their jazz fusion was doomed to fail when punk rock exploded onto the music scene in 1976. Stewart Copeland, drummer with Curved Air, saw Last Exit on a visit to Newcastle and while the music did nothing for him he did recognise the potential and charisma of the bass player. The two hooked up shortly afterwards and within months, Sting had left his teaching job and moved to London.

Seeing punk as flag of convenience, Copeland and Sting - together with Corsican guitarist Henri Padovani - started rehearsing and looking for gigs. Ever the businessman, Copeland took the name The Police figuring it would be good publicity, and the three started gigging round landmark punk venues like The Roxy, Marquee, Vortex and Nashville in London. Replacing Padovani with the virtuoso talents of Andy Summers the band also enrolled Stewart's elder brother Miles as manager, wowing him with a Sting song called 'Roxanne'. Within days Copeland Senior had them a record deal. But the hip London music press saw through The Police's punk camouflage and did little to disguise their contempt, and the band's early releases had no chart success. So The Police did the unthinkable - they went to America.

The early tours are the stuff of legend - bargain flights to the USA courtesy of Freddie Laker's pioneering Skytrain; driving their own van and humping their own equipment from gig to gig; and playing to miniscule audiences at the likes of CBGB's in New York and The Rat Club in Boston. Their tenacity paid off though as they slowly built a loyal following, got some all important air-play, and won over their audiences with a combination of new wave toughness and reggae rhythms.

They certainly made an odd trio: guitarist Summers had a career dating back to the mid-60s, the hyper-kinetic Copeland was a former prog-rocker, and Sting's background was in trad jazz and fusion. The sound the trio made was unique though, and Sting's pin-up looks did them no harm at all. The band returned to the UK to find the reissued 'Roxanne' single charting, and played a sell-out tour of mid-size venues. The momentum had started. The debut album 'Outlandos d'Amour' (Oct 78) delivered three sizeable hits with 'Roxanne', 'Can't Stand Losing You' and 'So Lonely' which in turn led to a headlining slot at the '79 Reading Festival which won the band some fine reviews, but it was with 'Reggatta de Blanc' (Oct 79) that the band stepped up a gear.

Reggatta's first single, 'Message In A Bottle', streaked to number one and the album's success was consolidated further when 'Walking On The Moon' also hit the top slot. The band was big, but about to get even bigger. 1980 saw them undertake a world tour with stops on all continents - including the first rock concerts in Bombay - and the band eventually returned to the UK exhausted, for two final shows in Sting's hometown of Newcastle. Much of this groundbreaking tour was captured on the 'Police Around The World' video and a BBC documentary entitled 'The Police in the East'

Within weeks, the band were in a Dutch studio recording new material but Sting's stock of pre-Police songs and ideas were wearing out. When 'Zenyatta Mondatta' was released (Oct 80) although it sold well and produced another number one single in 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' and a top five hit with 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da' a rethink was required. Sting later admitted that he felt 'Zenyatta' was the band's weakest album but by the end of 1980 the band were undoubtedly the biggest-selling band in the country selling out two shows in a huge marquee on Tooting Bec Common in London. For more please visit www.sting.com

This album contains no booklet.